The government has once again broken its promise to allocate 1% of Norway's income to international aid. To achieve this, NOK 4.5 billion is missing.

Secretary General Ingrid Rosendorf Joys said this when she was in the Storting's Foreign Affairs Committee to present our input for next year's state budget.

We are disappointed that Norway is once again the second largest recipient of its own aid funds, due to spending on refugees. Increased funding for refugees in Norway is positive, but it is reprehensible that it is being withdrawn from the aid budget, which is intended to combat poverty.

Multiple crises have forced over 117 million people to flee their homes . The conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle East and Sudan are causing great humanitarian suffering.

The budget distribution shows that the “winners” in the 2025 budget are Ukraine and Norway, which receive 21.8% of the total aid. Support for Ukraine is right and important, but it is problematic that the aid comes at the expense of people in countries with great humanitarian needs.

Cuts in support for local areas

Nor does it send a good signal to other donor countries that Norway prioritizes neither helping refugees at home nor in the surrounding areas at a time when migration is shaping political development and causing indescribable human suffering. We recall that this funding gap has previously been temporarily closed through the so-called South Package in the Nansen Program.

The funding gap must be filled

Humanitarian funding is insufficient in the government's proposed budget. In the first half of 2024, only 16 percent of the global need was covered. The gap must be filled. But humanitarian crises are best solved with long-term policies. That's why it's disappointing, short-sighted and costly that the item for peace and reconciliation is being cut, when the need for conflict resolution has never been greater.

Less support for Africa

Caritas welcomes the NOK 300 million increase for food security and climate adaptation. The fight against hunger is crucial to ensuring dignity and achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals. In light of growing global needs, this is necessary. At the same time, it should go without saying, given the great needs and Norway's strong economy.

But when the government also reduces the regional appropriation for Africa and support for refugees in the surrounding areas, which has also financed food security projects, by NOK 900 million, we question how significant the investment in food security is.